It didn’t take long for Ben Johnson to silence many of the skeptics who questioned his move to become head coach of the Chicago Bears. When Chicago hired him, plenty of observers wondered if he would follow the same path as Josh McDaniels—a brilliant offensive coordinator whose success didn’t translate once he took over a team. Johnson had earned plenty of praise for orchestrating the offense that helped the Detroit Lions become contenders, but some still doubted whether he could manage the broader responsibilities of leading an entire franchise.
Those doubts quickly faded. Chicago’s offense underwent a dramatic transformation during the 2025 season, and the emergence of quarterback Caleb Williams played a huge role in that turnaround. In just his first season as head coach, Johnson guided a team that had long been viewed as the weak link of the division to the brink of the NFC Championship Game, falling just one completed pass short of getting there. Instead of being labeled a place where quarterbacks struggle to succeed, Chicago suddenly boasts one of the league’s most exciting young signal-callers. That shift alone highlights the immediate impact Johnson has had.
Considering that kind of turnaround—along with leading Chicago to the 2025 NFC North title—many would assume Johnson would easily land among the NFL’s top head coaches. However, not everyone sees it that way. Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports released his 2026 head coach rankings and placed Johnson at No. 13 overall.
Daugherty argued that Chicago’s 2025 season included a fair amount of fortune, pointing out that the team relied heavily on narrow victories. According to his assessment, teams that frequently win close games often face regression the following year. Even so, he acknowledged that Johnson appears well-equipped to handle the challenge ahead. Daugherty noted that Johnson isn’t just an offensive strategist but a leader who sets the tone for the entire roster, suggesting that greater achievements in Chicago could still be on the horizon.
Still, the idea that the Bears were unusually lucky last season doesn’t fully hold up. Including their playoff run, Chicago finished 8–5 in games decided by a single score, which ranked only around the middle of the league in terms of success rate. While it’s possible those results could swing the other way in the future, it’s equally plausible that the team maintains—or even improves—its performance in tight contests.
To be fair, placing a coach inside the top half of the league after only one year isn’t inherently insulting. The real point of contention comes from who was ranked ahead of Johnson. All three of his NFC North counterparts landed above him: Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings at No. 12, Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers at No. 10, and Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions at No. 8.
That ranking raises an obvious question: how does the coach who just won the division end up behind every other coach within it? Some might argue that Johnson needs more than one season to prove he belongs among the NFL’s elite coaching minds. But if the rankings are supposed to reflect recent accomplishments, the results should matter.
Campbell’s Lions, for example, have taken steps backward over the past two seasons and could continue that trend in 2026. O’Connell, meanwhile, has yet to guide Minnesota to a playoff victory. As for LaFleur, the Packers have not captured the division since Aaron Rodgers departed, and Green Bay holds a 1–3 postseason record during that stretch. Even that lone playoff win came in a game where the opposing team collapsed more than anything else.
Perhaps Johnson’s 2–4 mark against division rivals influenced Daugherty’s placement. But if the list is meant to rank the NFL’s best head coaches overall, focusing too heavily on divisional results seems like a weak justification. After all, LaFleur had an even worse divisional record the year before and still received a higher ranking at the time.
Winning the NFC North—arguably one of the most competitive divisions in football—should have been enough to place Johnson comfortably within the top tier of coaches. At the very least, it seems reasonable that the reigning division champion would rank ahead of the other coaches in that same group.
Of course, supporters of the Bears have grown accustomed to skepticism from national analysts. Ever since the organization moved on from Lovie Smith, Chicago has endured a long stretch of misfortune, which has conditioned many commentators to doubt the franchise’s direction. But the current version of the Bears looks very different from the teams of the past. If their momentum continues into the 2026 season, this may be the last time Chicago’s head coach—or its quarterback—finds themselves so heavily undervalued in league-wide rankings.
